1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the sport of fishing and the use of a weight as a means for sinking a hook and line below the surface of the water.
2. Description of Prior Art
Fishing sinkers have generally been made out of lead. However, by throwing lead sinkers into the life-sustaining waters of different oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams, fishermen have been slowly polluting the environment. Lead is a toxic substance and when a lead sinker is lost, it becomes just another environmental problem. Therefore, in the interest of protecting the environment, if more sinkers could be made out of some nontoxic substance, lost sinkers would then be less of an environmental concern.
Furthermore, due to the varying water conditions that are usually encountered by fishermen, along with their apparent need to change to different types of baits, lures, and other forms of tackle, an adjustable weight sinker that could be quickly altered in weight to fit a given fishing situation would prove useful in reducing the likelihood of an overweighted sinker snagging on various underwater objects such as rocks and sunken debris. Thus, an adjustable weight sinker would provide the fisherman with an additional means of conserving valuable fishing tackle and time.
Typically, fishing sinkers have been labeled as being nontoxic because they are not made out of lead. Many of these sinkers are constructed out of some form of alloy of zinc and are molded into short, compact shapes such as found in bullet, ball, or bass casting sinkers. Zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) are all considered to be heavy metals known to be toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms. These short, compact sinkers of zinc usually come in a standard size such as 1/2 oz., 3/4 oz., 1 oz., etc., and simply do not allow for any further adjustments to be made in the original sinker's weight.